Lessons must be learnt from Busby's reign: Moyes must not fear Ferguson's shadow

For many years after Sir Matt Busby
stood down as Manchester United manager, he had an office at Old
Trafford where he would sit smoking a pipe and busy himself with other,
less important affairs.

The door to Busby’s office was always open. It was his way of inviting his successors in for a chat; of letting them know they could seek his advice at any time. They rarely did.

Busby became a spectre around Old Trafford when he resigned after 24 years as United boss and became general manager. A shadow of the past looming large over the future, and one that Wilf McGuinness and Frank O’Farrell found almost impossible to handle.

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They were mere puppets while the master was still around, too inhibited to run the club their way.When Sir Alex Ferguson arrived at United from Aberdeen in 1986, there was no such sense of trepidation.

Ferguson had the self-confidence to pay regular visits to Busby’s office to bounce ideas off the old man and listen to his stories, finding a close friend and ally in Sir Matt.

Sir Alex is only too aware of the history, of how Busby had to briefly come out of retirement and take over from McGuinness, and O’Farrell lasted just 18 months in the job. Unbelievably, United were relegated just six years after lifting the European Cup. Now that he too has stepped down to take up a role on the board of directors and as a club ambassador, he faces the same problem.

Ferguson set the tone yesterday when he gathered his staff at Carrington to make an emotional farewell.

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‘I’ll keep my hand in but I want to do other things,’ he said. ‘I’ll still be a club director and ambassador so I’ll be around. But I won’t be coming into the dressing-room. I’ve had enough of that dressing-room lark.’

Ferguson’s directorship is an honorary position in recognition of all he has done for the club. It also creates a degree of continuity at the club, as was the case in bringing Sir Bobby Charlton on to the board — a key figure in the Scot’s appointment and another close ally over the years.

As ambassador, Ferguson’s role is similar to that of Bryan Robson but of a much higher profile. He will be the club’s ace card in attracting even bigger commercial deals around the globe. How much time that will allow him to spend at Old Trafford remains to be seen, although he will be welcome to come and go as he pleases.

It is understood that he has already spoken to Moyes about the situation and offered to support him through any problems that might arise.

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Charlton witnessed the slide when Busby stepped down as manager and is certain that Ferguson knows better than to meddle in the affairs of his successor.

‘The club will continue,’ he said. ‘There has been a torment in my mind about this happening but he’s not going away. He will be staying on as a director. He’ll come on to the board which automatically means he will have a say.

‘But he won’t interfere. Alex Ferguson doesn’t work like that.’

Denis Law, who along with Charlton and Robson, was talking yesterday at the launch of the 11 Royal Mail stamps of British legends, launched in celebration of the FA’s 150th anniversary, thinks patience will be key for Moyes.

Historical cycle: Replacing Ferguson will be as difficult as replacing Busby

‘It’s going to be difficult for his successor because Alex has been so successful,’ said Law. ‘You have to give him time. Then after a spell, they will know he is either the right guy or not. It was the same when Sir Matt Busby retired.

‘Alex has the experience to know to step back. He will give advice but he will step back.’

Robson, who was at Old Trafford when Ferguson arrived in 1986, believes the new manager won’t have to make many changes.

‘He has just got to do a little bit of minor tweaking to make the team the way he wants it and the fans have to take to the new manager as well,’ he said. ‘You’ve got to play a style of football that is a passing game and very attacking. The fans are used to that.’

Captain: Bryan Robson was another to enjoy success under Derguson

Like Ferguson, Moyes will have to look up at a statue of his predecessor at Old Trafford. He will also find himself facing the towering Sir Alex Ferguson Stand every time he takes his place in the dugout.

However, United are confident that they have found someone with the same inner confidence to be his own man. For some time now Moyes has railed against suggestions that he might struggle to handle a bigger club and bigger personalities.

He is, after all, the third longest-serving manager in the Premier League; someone who has also coached in the Champions League, and who began his reign at Everton by clearing out household names such as Paul Gascoigne and David Ginola.

‘He’s Scottish, he’s made from the same cloth as Sir Alex and he’s the kind of guy you look at and you think “stability”,’ said Peter Schmeichel. ‘Beyond anything else that’s the most important thing for Manchester United.’

David Beckham reminisced yesterday about going to Ferguson’s office and finding the corridors filled with the scent of Busby’s tobacco smoke. Some things take time to fade away. Sir Alex Ferguson is one of them, as David Moyes will discover.